Tsinghua University moved up to 26th from last year's 36th place, 10 notches above, while Peking University climbed nine places to 32nd position.

"This is a strong performance by China. Its two leading institutions have made gains in the reputation rankings, reflecting the country's commitment to developing world-class universities," Phil Baty, editor of THE Rankings, was quoted as saying.

"China's growing stature should lead to further improvements, as a strong reputation helps universities to attract and retain more global talent and investment," he added.

Other Chinese universities were also included in the Top 100 list but did not show similar progress. The University of Hong Kong dropped in the top 50, from 43rd position to the 51-60 group. The National Taiwan University also slipped to the 61-70 group, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology also fell to position in the 71-80 group.

Harvard University topped the list again, retaining its place as world's most prestigious university, while Cambridge took the second place, moving up the fourth place last year. Oxford University is third, two notches up from its fifth position last year.

Among Asian universities, the University of Tokyo was ranked highest in the 12th place, but dropped one notch from last year.

The new ranking also revealed that the United States has the highest number of higher education institutions in the top 100 with 43 institutions, followed by Britain with 12, and Germany in third place with six.

The 2015 ranking was based on 9,794 responses from 142 countries. It was available in 15 languages and was distributed based on United Nations' data to ensure accuracy and the fair distribution of scholars.